Rubruquis (Rockhill”s ed. pp. 153-154) says:–’And whenever the principal
envoy [of Longa] came to court he carried a highly-polished tablet of
ivory about a cubit long and half a palm wide. Every time he spoke to the
chan or some great personage, he always looked at that tablet as if he
found there what he had to say, nor did he look to the right or the left,
nor in the face of him with whom he was talking. Likewise, when coming
into the presence of the Lord, and when leaving it, he never looked at
anything but his tablet.’ Mr. Rockhill observes: ‘These tablets are called
_hu_ in Chinese, and were used in China and Korea; in the latter country
down to quite recent times. They were made of jade, ivory, bamboo, etc.,
according to the rank of the owner, and were about three feet long. The
_hu_ was originally used to make memoranda on of the business to be
submitted by the bearer to the Emperor or to write the answers to
questions he had had submitted to them. Odoric also refers to “the tablets
of white ivory which the Emperor”s barons held in their hands as they
stood silent before him.”‘
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